MSC builds: own private island Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve

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MSC Cruises celebrates groundbreaking for the MSC’s own private island Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve

 The ceremony will start the construction of a unique Caribbean destination, which MSC guests will be able to experience exclusively from November 2018 onwards.
Munich, 17 January 2017 – MSC Cruises, the market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa, yesterday celebrated the groundbreaking for the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. The island south of Bimini in the Bahamas will become an exclusive nature paradise for MSC guests from November 2018 onwards. 

The Prime Minister of the Bahamas Perry Gladstone Christie and Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman MSC Cruises, as well as other Bahamian ministers and government representatives, accompanied the ceremony. Thus the transformation of the island, which was formerly used for sand extraction, begins an original natural experience.


The development of the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve is an integral part of the 9 billion euro investment plan, which also includes up to eleven ultra-modern new buildings to be commissioned between 2017 and 2026.


Pierfrancesco Vago commented: “In close co-operation with the Bahamian government, we are transforming the crumbling industrial area into a blossoming natural paradise, thereby returning the island to its original state. We are thus expanding our significant investments in the Bahamian economy and providing the local population with long-term job prospects. “

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The innovative power of MSC is demonstrated by the fact that MSC ships will dock directly on the island, without – as usual. This allows the newly built berth with pier. The island is a direct extension of the ship and reflects all the experiences of board through a variety of facilities.


“The island is located 105 kilometers east of Miami, Florida, and offers 3.5 kilometers of beach, crystal blue water and a unique marine flora and fauna.” Gianluca Suprani, Head of Global Port Development and Shoreside Activities at MSC Cruises, added. It has the finest coral sand and, after completion of the work, the coastal waters become the home of dreamlike corals and exotic marine animals. MSC offers its guests a truly exclusive and unique caribbean experience. “


The island is lined with more than 80 different species of native trees, grasses, flowers and shrubs that bring back the original nature to life.
The MSC Seaside and other ships of the MSC fleet will start the Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve from November 2018 on wards.

MSC pushes back opening of private island in Bahamas

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Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve is now scheduled to open in October 2018.

MSC Cruises said the opening of its private island near Bimini, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, will be pushed back 10 months from December 2017 to October 2018.

“As we set out to finalize construction plans for this one-of-a-kind destination, we realized that to ensure the level of quality and attention to details in both infrastructure and services that our guests have rightfully come to expect from MSC Cruises, it was only appropriate to allot a longer time frame,” said Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of MSC Cruises.

MSC guests that had been scheduled to visit on calls starting late next year will visit Nassau instead, Vago said.

A groundbreaking ceremony for Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve has been scheduled for Oct. 6, 2016, with the Prime Minister of the Bahamas expected to attend.

MSC Cruises Anticipates American and Chinese Expansions

MSC Cruises Anticipates American and Chinese Expansions
MSC Seaside, soon to home port in Miami; Florida

For a company like MSC Cruises with eleven new ships set to come online between 2017 and 2026 – contributing to a total $10.2 billion growth investment – it’s important to establish the firmest foundation possible in which to deploy in new markets, and both North America and China are still relatively new to the European line.

MSC Cruises has dedicated the MSC Divina to sailings roundtrip from Miami, Florida, but the line has vacillated on its year-round commitment – establishing it in 2013, leaving it temporarily and then returning again in 2015.

As it is, the Divina was an existing ship that was retrofitted for the U.S. market, and its success was questionable at the start. Initially, service and dining were particularly not up to standards, but the ship has much improved since then, making the Divina a wonderful Mediterranean experience in the Caribbean.

Now, the line is anticipating the launch of its MSC Seaside (rendered above) which, come December 2017, will be the line’s first ship to be exclusively based in the States from the very start, and with the ship’s launch will also coincide the opening of the line’s new Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve in the Bahamas.

With the island destination alone costing $200 million, there is a lot at stake for MSC Cruises in the Caribbean next year.

READ MORE: MSC Cruises Appoints President, Chairman to Lead North American Growth 

So, the line is making a fresh start with its North American leadership team. It is bolstering it up by effectively putting two in the driver’s seat: 12-year-veteran Rick Sasso becomes Chairman of MSC North America, and executive Roberto Fusaro takes the role of President of MSC North America after his success in South America on behalf of the cruise line.

“With the ultra-modern and beautiful MSC Divina home-porting in Miami, the revolutionary MSC Seaside to be christened in Miami in December 2017 and to also home-port there, as well as the development of Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve – the most exciting new private destination ever built by a cruise line – it is clear that MSC Cruises is committed to the North American market,” said Fusaro.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to take on this new challenge and excited to work with Rick and the rest of the North American team as we look to further grow our business in the region and deliver a unique vacation experience to guests on board one of the most modern and elegant fleets at sea.”

 Similarly in China, MSC Cruises has meanwhile opened up an office for the line in Shanghai, where its MSC Lirica has been recently deployed, and appointed Helen Huang as President of MSC Greater China. She comes to MSC after regional endeavors with Costa Asia and Costa China. As more and more cruise lines enter Asian markets, competition rapidly grows, and MSC Cruises’ new developments in China show that the company means business.

“I look forward to a new journey to contribute to making MSC Cruises – in the footsteps of what the company has already accomplished in China – the most attractive brand to Chinese vacationers,” added Huang.